Thursday, 29 January 2015

sleet
in these slippery times
a glisten and gleaming sheen
out on the street with
'natural pet safe ice melter'
and in moments after seeding the sidewalk
little cracks and snaps
like the pebble tongue candy
that we later learned was all just basically a clever way of rendering
baking soda
for a nanosecond i was tempted to pop some crystals on my tongue
anticipating the sensation
And then was cast back into semi sensible adulthood

Tuesday, 27 January 2015

tonight there is a lovely tinkling
drops
beads
freezing rain on sidewalks
rooftops
ebbing January
the first robin of the year
on the boughs of the dogwood
the tink tink tinkling of rain
falling freezing not quite snow
makes me think of the moment when a glass falls
suspended in mid air
flash frozen
if only we could reach out
catch it
react in time
move in the moment
waves waves waves

Driving in a car with my friend in what felt like a national park
She said 'you need to choose your totem tree'
So I did and she said 'no not that one...
You likely chose it because your focus followed the cut line'
So I said 'okay, let's drive on'
And we did
I saw another tree in the distance
Old growth, huge, like a Redwood
And I said 'that one!'
Just then, the tree came crashing down in the distance far on the road ahead
The fallen tree then surged towards us on the highway
Feverish pursuit roots and all
My friend put the car in reverse and we raced backwards to escape the menacing tree
That's how this Tuesday started for me
More than a little barking

Monday, 26 January 2015

years ago a friend of mine
a talented improviser, comic and writer
observed how weird it was
that when odd news stories were reported
there was often a correspondingly odd correlation
between the subjects featured in the stories
and their surnames
so, for example a man who had been the mastermind
of a pricey forgery scam might be named
David Rob
or that a victim of rising waters would be identified as
Natalie Flood
yesterday there was a story on the news about ice damage
attributed to rising warm air, accumulations of ice
and ensuing melting in attics
as explained by insulation expert
Steve Squirrel
case closed

Saturday, 24 January 2015

Guarantee Expires AUG 1934
In case of complaint for any reason please
return this slip with sample films both used
and unused to your dealer or direct to
General Electric
X- Ray Corporation
***
this box now contains
remnants of a wasp's nest
wings
stingers
resonant
lovingly
electric

Friday, 23 January 2015

It's raining tonight
Hearing on the roof
The eaves
The leaves
It's raining tonight
Wishing it south of here and all places
In drought
It's raining tonight and I love
The sound of rain
The smell of rain
The little caress of rain
It all falls down

Wednesday, 14 January 2015

The robin count began early
The first few days of the New Year
Don't they know the worms are frozen?
Hunkered down roiling soiling
Meringue duvets slowly shrinking
Droplets from eaves splashing cottontops
Muddling puddling matting down
Each day just a little longer
Headed the other way
Closer by degrees
Melting

Sunday, 11 January 2015

If you have ever seen it you carry it with you
If you haven't
How to bring it forward
To nestle it in your arms
Your sights
The little slips of breathing
While you sleep
The spirits are out
Painting trunks leaves
Animating limbs
Flash frozen
Stuck in dreams determined to flex
In sun
Again

Saturday, 3 January 2015

A goldfish in England was backed up
Basically, couldn't go
So its owner had it fixed
Tiny beating heart and all
Better to move, flow and go again
Teeny tiny goldfish too precious to let go
Go a little further
Swim a little longer
Unbung a bit better
Fingers to fins
Schooled in what might be

Friday, 2 January 2015

Thursday, 1 January 2015

There are names given to precipitation
That really nail it 'just so'
Sleet
Hail
Slush
And maybe slush doesn't quite count
Because that is accumulation once it's hit the ground
No longer in motion
No longer falling

Today
When the numbers turn
When really nothing has changed but there is the promise of something new
There has been rain snow freezing rain
Intermittent
Starting
Stopping
Beginning again